ON
THE PENNSYLVANIA – VIRGINIA BOUNDARY COMMISSION
JOHN DICKINSON. Letter Signed as Governor
of Pennsylvania to Andrew Porter, Philadelphia [PA], 22 April 1784.
1 page, 13" x 8", plus integral address leaf.
A Signer of the Constitution from Delaware, John Dickinson was a member
of the Stamp Act Congress and wrote the influential Letters from
a Farmer in Pennsylvania protesting British taxation of the colonies.
Although he voted against the Declaration of Independence, Dickinson
served in the Continental Army, helped draft the Articles of Confederation,
and became president of both Delaware and Pennsylvania, as well as participating
in the Constitutional Convention. He signed this letter while President
of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, a post that was the
equivalent of Governor.
His correspondent is Andrew Porter, a Pennsylvania native who had been
a teacher prior to the Revolution and who shared interests in mathematics,
astronomy, and surveying with his friend, David Rittenhouse. During
the Revolution, Porter served briefly as a marine and then, until the
end of the war, in the Continental Artillery. In 1809, he would be named
Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, a post he would hold until his death
in 1813.
In this letter, Dickinson informs Porter of his appointment to serve
with the commission that would settle the boundary between Pennsylvania
and Virginia (now West Virginia). Conflicting land claims in the area
had led to an agreement between the two states in 1780 that they would
establish their boundary by extending the Mason–Dixon line, which
had set the Pennsylvania– Maryland border in the 1760's, westward
to a point five degrees of longitude from the Delaware River, and from
there, running a line north to the Ohio River. The final, permanent
survey to mark this border had to await the end of the Revolution. In
1784, each state appointed commissioners to undertake the work; Porter's
friend, David Rittenhouse, was one of those named for Pennsylvania.
“By the inclosed Act of Council,” Dickinson writes
to Porter, “you will perceive your appointment as Commissary
to attend the Commissioners for running the Boundary Lines between this
State and Virginia, and the nature of the duty intrusted to your Care.
Council are perswaded, that it will be conducted by you with all possible
attention and aeconomy. If the Commissioners shall be of opinion, that
any of the Waggons or Horses can be spared, without detriment to their
operations, you will be pleased with their approbation and Consent to
dispose of them to the most advantage.
“Should unforeseen exigences happen that may render any expence
necessary which has not been mentioned,” Dickinson adds, “you will please to comply with the direction
of the Commissioners, so that the very important business committed
to them may be perfectly accomplished. A list of the articles to be
purchased before you set out, is enclosed.” He has signed
in full, “John Dickinson.”
The enclosures Dickinson mentions in the letter are not present.
The letter is in very good condition, with expert repairs to some fold
breaks on the verso. The address leaf, which is marked “Public
Service,” has some soiling and wear, but is in good condition.
$1250.00
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